404 LABRADOR 
All of these influences together, the most important of 
which are evidently the amount of available moisture and 
the length of the season of temperatures favourable to 
growth, determine the characteristics of vegetation on the 
coast of Labrador. The prominent features that result 
have most of them been already described. A few others, 
however, still remain to be considered. One of them is 
the great variability of the flowers. I observed it myself 
markedly in several species. In Rubus Chamemorus and 
R. arcticus, the petals and calyx lobes ranged in number 
almost indiscriminately between four and six; and in the 
former the ends of the calyx lobes were sometimes single- 
pointed and sometimes toothed, the number of teeth vary- 
ing, and its leaves were often spotted or even entirely 
coloured with deep purple. In Ledum palustre, var. dilata- 
tum, flowers of the same cluster showed no constancy in the 
number of their stamens, any number from five to eleven 
being present. Sedum Rhodiola is very variable. In 
flowers of the same plant I found petals ranging in number 
from three to seven, sepals from three to five, scales from 
two to four, stamens from five to thirteen, and pistils from 
two to nine. In Cornus Canadensis, I noticed one variety 
with six upper leaves arranged in a whorl, with each side 
of the four-sided stem grooved, and with greenish white 
flowers; another with three pairs of opposite leaves, only 
two of the sides grooved, and flowers dark purple or maroon, 
both calyx and corolla; and a third with characteristics 
between these two. Pedicularis also, to my inexpert bo- 
tanical eye, seemed to present a greater variability than 
could be accounted for by the number of already reported 
species. 
